Odd Lots What Happens Now to All the Laid Off Tech Workers?
17 snips
Feb 13, 2023 
Patrick McKenzie, author of the Bits About Money newsletter and former Stripe employee, dives deep into the striking layoffs hitting the tech industry. He discusses the reasons behind these cuts, contrasting them with the previous hiring boom during the pandemic. McKenzie highlights the challenges laid-off workers face in finding new jobs and how their skills might pivot to the growing AI sector. He also discusses the cultural shifts in job security, the bias in tech companies toward innovation over maintenance, and the evolving future of programming.
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Pandemic Hiring Boom
- The 2020 tech hiring boom was driven by increased consumer spending and online activity due to pandemic-related factors.
- Tech companies misinterpreted this temporary surge as a sustained trend, leading to aggressive hiring.
Growth Rate Adjustment
- While tech growth didn't return to pre-pandemic levels, the rate slowed, prompting companies to reassess their hiring strategies.
- This reassessment contributed to the tech layoffs observed in 2023.
Cultural and Productivity Drift
- Pandemic hiring practices, like remote work, led to some cultural and productivity differences in newer hires.
- Companies, observing these differences, factored them into layoff decisions.